The canon of vampire legend is filled with stories of undead lords taking the semblance of the “children of the night.” This power is the source of those legends. With it, a Kindred can take the shape of an ordinary animal, most commonly a bat or a wolf. While in this form, the vampire retains his mind and temperament, but he can call upon the physical qualities of his newfound body (increased speed and senses as a wolf, sonar sense and flight as a bat).
With time and experience, the character can learn to adopt the other form (bat or wolf) or others.
Dice Pool: This power requires no roll to activate. The
transformation from human to animal or back again requires
a character’s action in a turn. All clothing and small
possessions shift with the vampire, and he can remain in
his animal state until he chooses to shift back. A vampire
can even sleep the day away in animal form, but must still
avoid sunlight, which always affects vampires regardless of
form. In addition, sleeping in animal form is taxing on the
vampiric state, requiring the expenditure of an additional
Vitae upon awakening.
While in animal form, a vampire can use any Discipline
in his repertoire except for Theban Sorcery, Crúac and
Dominate (which becomes impossible when one tries to
bark and yip commands). Each animal form conveys a separate
host of benefits. As a wolf, the vampire’s claws and
teeth inflict lethal damage and add a +1 bonus to attack
pools, Speed is doubled, and two bonus dice are added to
any Wits + Composure rolls to be aware of events that happen
in the wolf ’s environment. As a bat, the vampire’s
Strength becomes 1, but he can fly at a Speed of 20 (plus
five more per dot of Vigor activated); three dice are added
to all hearing-based rolls, and Defense increases by two.
(At the player’s discretion, he may spend another Vitae and
allow a character in wolf form or any other suitable form as
described here to activate Claws of the Wild. As with normal
uses of that power, these claws are obviously supernatural or
otherwise remarkable, and even those unfamiliar with the
world of the Damned will know that something is not quite
right about the animal in question. A character who has assumed
Shape of the Beast and also activates Claws of the Wild
gains a +1 bonus to attack pools and inflicts aggravated damage
instead of gaining a +1 bonus to attack pools and inflicting
lethal damage with claw attacks.)
When this power is first acquired, only bat or wolf form is available.
With Storyteller permission, every three experience points
spent allows a character access to the other form, or to an altogether
different predatory animal, usually a mammal, although
it’s rumored that Kindred in far-flung lands can assume the forms
of predatory and scavenger birds. Storytellers are encouraged to
use the models given here and on p. 202-203 of the World of
Darkness Rulebook as examples of animal traits (also see Bestiary).
A vampire in animal form is not subject to the Animalism Discipline. Dominate may still be used on him in whatever form — human or animal — he assumes.
